A dark dorsal fin breaks the surface of a gleaming seascape. A ghost-faced killer glides silently through the water . . . the theme tune to "Jaws" automatically plays in the brain.
Peter Benchley has a lot to answer for, and he knows it. Attacks on surfers don't do much for the public image of the great white shark, but as the author of "Jaws" -- made into one of the highest-grossing films of all time -- Benchley is partly responsible for creating the image of the shark as a ruthless, lone, blood-crazed human killer.
It was never meant to be like that. Benchley wrote the book because of a fascination for the ocean and awe for its creatures. "Even in 'Jaws' I never advocated wiping out sharks," he told Sports Afield magazine. "The voice of me in 'Jaws' is Hooper, the biologist, who is saying 'This is not an evil animal; it's just doing what it does.' "